Sealing ends are known whereby an insulating body configured so as to be mechanically stable absorbs the forces (tensile loads and bending forces from the overhead conductor cable, weight of the inserted cable) acting on the sealing end. Insulating bodies of this kind may be made of porcelain or of fibre-reinforced plastics materials. As a result, these sealing ends have a disproportionately high weight and are unwieldy to install and normally require an insulating fluid.
A cable sealing end with an insulating body made of a rigid polymer configured so as to be mechanically stable—but without the use of insulating fluid—is described in EP 1494329 A1. In this device—and in the devices described hereinafter—the principle is implemented that the stability of the sealing end is even further improved by intimately connecting the insulating body to a rigid conductive element. The lateral forces at the head end of the cable sealing end can thus be fully absorbed.
A similar dry sealing end is shown in EP 0667665 B1. The forces are diverted from the overhead conductor connection via the rigid conductive element, via a basic element with a field control and insulating device to the bearing structure. The weakness of this arrangement is the transition from the conductive, rigid element to the basic element.
A further cable sealing end with a self-supporting structure is described in EP 0683555 A1. The mechanical rigidity is again provided by a rigid metal tube or a rigid tube provided with a conductive coating, which is introduced over a section of the total length of the sealing end between a securing platform and an overhead conductor terminal. The end of the insulating body made of relatively rigid polymer positioned towards the cable inlet opening is configured as an inlet cone. The conical terminating end of the cable configured with control electrodes and so as to be flexible is inserted into this cable inlet opening and is compressed by means of clamping means so as to have a non-positive and positive fit. When a cable is replaced, the entire structure must be dismantled. In particular, the clamping means (bottom) and the securing means of the overhead conductor (top) must be undone. This time and effort with regard to installation work is disadvantageous.